Former Manchester United player and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is set to take charge of Turkish giants Besiktas, with confirmation thought to be imminent.
The beloved Norwegian coach has not been in charge of a club since being sacked by United in November 2021. Solskjaer had taken a role as a match analyst for UEFA and was seen watching various Premier League matches, but is now on the verge of ending his spell in the managerial wilderness.
In a statement to official website of the club This Friday, Besiktas revealed: “Norwegian technical director Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with whom we have started negotiations for the Technical Directorate of our Football A Team, has arrived in Istanbul.
“Solskjaer was received at Istanbul Ataturk Airport by our vice president Hakan Daltaban, vice president Kaan Kasaci and board member Merve Oztopaloglu.”
“I'm very happy to be here,” Solskjaer told the assembled reporters. “It's great that so many people are here for this great club. We've had our first meetings. I can't wait to start my job. It's great to be in this great city.”
ex Rangers and Feyenoord boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst had only been appointed by the Istanbul outfit in the summer. However, after a brilliant start to the campaign – Besiktas thrashed Galatasaray 5-0 to win the Turkish Super Cup in August and were second in the table at the end of October – the Dutch coach was sacked at the end of November.
Be, be, be. 🦅#NorthernEagle pic.twitter.com/3yPiY2yZbg
— Beşiktaş JK (@Beshiktas) January 17, 2025
Former Beşiktaş striker Serdar Topraktep resumed his familiar role as interim manager but has yet to pull the club out of its struggling form. They are currently sixth in the top flight, although they are just one point off the European qualification places.
The explosion of personnel has not been limited to the pit. Besiktas have already had three different figures hold the role of club president this season, with Serdal Adali being the current president since the end of December.
Solskjaer's imminent arrival offers the opportunity to renew rivalries with Jose Mourinho. The current coach of Fenerbahce was united Manager Solskjaer was initially replaced in a caretaker role in March 2019, fueling a bad feeling which carried over into their subsequent head-to-head clashes.
of Mourinho Tottenham Hotspur the team were beaten twice by Solskjaer's United, however, the Portuguese boss oversaw a 6-1 thrashing of his former employers at Old Trafford in October 2020.